


If You Like Piña Colada

by KandiSheek



Series: POTS Stony Stockings 2020 [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bucky Barnes Is a Good Bro, Communication, Dating, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fights, Getting Back Together, Identity Porn, Love Confessions, M/M, Misunderstandings, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Online Dating, Post-Break Up, Reconciliation, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 01:40:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28735107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KandiSheek/pseuds/KandiSheek
Summary: Steve is miserable in the months after his break up with Tony. To stop him from wallowing in self-pity Bucky and Natasha convince him to sign up on a dating app. It doesn't seem like a good idea at first but there's this one guy, apparently an engineer in his mid-forties, who really catches his eye. Maybe it wouldn't be so wrong to try again.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: POTS Stony Stockings 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2159949
Comments: 32
Kudos: 236
Collections: POTS (18+) Stony Stocking 2020





	If You Like Piña Colada

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AvengersNewB](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvengersNewB/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [AvengersNewB](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvengersNewB/pseuds/AvengersNewB) in the [stony_stocking_2020](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/stony_stocking_2020) collection. 



> Yay for the POTS stockings! This one is for AvengersNewB although I took her prompt and turned it on its head so it's from Steve's perspective instead. I hope you still enjoy it!

Steve knew it was a bad idea.

He'd known it when Sam had started talking his ear off about modern dating. He'd known it when Bucky had sat him down to talk about his, quote, 'repressed man-pain'. He'd known it when Nat had started compiling a list of fun facts about him.

And now that he was sitting here, his mouse hovering over the 'Submit Profile' button... it still sounded like a horrible idea.

"Nothing's gonna jump out at you when you click it, Steve," Bucky said from the other end of the couch, turning a page in his book. "Just get it over with. If you don't like it you can still delete it later."

"I already don't like this," Steve said and Bucky sighed, putting down his book to look at him.

"Look. I know how hard this for you, but you'll have to find a way to move on eventually." Steve gritted his teeth and Bucky sat up to fully turn towards him. "If you really hate it this doesn't have to be the way you do it. But you barely even leave the house anymore, you don't make time for your friends –"

"It's –" Steve broke off, averting his eyes when Bucky leaned forward with a concerned frown. “I'm trying, okay? I am.”

“I know you are,” Bucky said placatingly. "But you're still miserable. Even though you're the one who –"

"Yes, I'm aware," Steve snapped, guilt curdling in his stomach when Bucky immediately backed away. "Sorry. Just – I had my reasons. You know that."

Bucky looked at him for a long moment before he nodded. "I know. Sorry for bringing it up. Again."

Steve nodded tersely.

"It's just..." Bucky folded his hands in his lap, looking around the room that Steve knew was pristine, not a single thing out of place. ...Which spoke volumes really. Steve was a notorious stress-cleaner. "We're worried about you. And I think being on your own through this isn't helping you at all."

Wasn't that the truth. Steve sighed, wiping a hand across his face. "Yeah, I know." He glanced down at his laptop, feeling his nervousness collapse into resignation. "I should make more of an effort, shouldn't I?"

"Yes," Bucky said, never one to beat around the bush. "You can do this. Just talk to people, play the field a little. You never know what might happen."

Steve nodded, taking a deep breath before he clicked the submit button and watched his profile load on the laptop screen. He barely moved when Bucky clapped him on the back.

"It's a step in the right direction. You'll see."

Steve sure hoped it was.

He wasn't at all prepared for the amount of messages he'd get. Between their mission and the debrief Steve had almost forgotten about it, so when he finally turned his phone back on and saw the number of notifications he felt his eyes go wide in shock. 241 blinked in a cheery white font off the page, only made worse by the pink hearts that kept popping up around his profile.

There weren't even any pictures of him, for Christ's sake.

Most of the messages were either a simple 'Hi' or words that actually made Steve's stomach turn. He'd heard that the anonymity of an online identity could make people blunt to the point of rude but Jesus Christ, this was something else.

Steve scrolled through his messages, feeling his heart sink further with each meaningless pick-up line. This wasn't what he'd wanted. It looked like everyone on this app was out for a booty call or a quick bout of sexting which was exactly what Steve didn't want. Dating wasn't supposed to make him feel worse, was it?

Steve shook his head, about to close the app and probably delete it from his phone, when an icon caught his eye.

It was the iron man helmet, or rather a drawing of one. Steve had been sent many an art piece by fans and some of them were absolutely stunning, but he'd never seen anything like this before. It looked almost like a technical drawing if it weren't for the wild splashes of red and gold completing the helmet, offset by the blue glow of the eye slits. It was beautiful.

Next to the picture the app displayed the name LocoRocco, which didn't sound like a name Steve had ever heard before. It might have been a cultural reference he didn't understand, but maybe not.

LocoRocco  
  
**Today** 9:45 AM  
Nice landscape. Are you a photographer?  
  


Steve frowned, bringing up his own profile – and saw that Natasha _had_ put pictures on there. None of them showed his face or even his body, thank god, but there were quite a few. Steve scrolled through the snap shots of New York he'd taken at random intervals until he got to the landscape one, a wide field in the countryside framed by the tall trees of a forest. Steve had taken it on a mission.

This person had apparently flicked through all of his pictures and chosen the one that Steve liked the most as a conversation starter. That was... different.

Not a professional one. But I do love taking photos.  
  


He blinked at the words on his screen, realizing with a start that he'd started a conversation. Well, not started it, but. Still.

Steve clicked on LocoRocco's profile, hoping to find a picture – but there were none. The description was very detailed though.

Apparently LocoRocco was male, in his late forties and an engineer. He liked the color red and spoke Mandarin Chinese. He loved trying exotic foods and watching True Crime shows on Netflix while eating caramelized popcorn.

It all reminded him painfully of Tony. Steve breathed through the ache behind his ribs as he looked at the Iron Man drawing again, his heart heavy with loss. Fuck, this whole thing was supposed to make him _forget_ Tony and now here he was, projecting on a random stranger on the internet.

 _Looking for a long term relationship_ , the bottom of the description said. _Serious inquiries only_.

Steve bit his lip. That sounded weirdly formal. He didn't even know what he wanted out of this, maybe it would be better not to lead this guy on –

Steve's phone pinged.

_New message from LocoRocco_

Steve stared at his screen for a long moment before he clicked on it, scrolling down to their conversation.

I can tell. You really have an eye for it.  
  


Well, that was... nice. Steve swallowed, thumbs hovering over the keyboard for a second before he started typing. 

Thank you. So what does an engineer build in your line of work? Cars? Phones? Airplanes?  
  


Steve sent the text, chewing on the side of his thumb as he waited for a response. He didn't have to wait long. 

Haha, building, I wish. I mostly design things.  
  


_That sounds interesting_ , Steve typed before he frowned, erasing it again. _What kinds of things?_ There, that was better. 

What kinds of things?  
  
Lots of things. I work for a pretty big company.  
  
Stark Industries big?  
  


Steve cursed himself as soon as he'd sent it. Damn it, he was supposed to move on – 

...Something like that.  
  


Shit. Steve hadn't wanted to bring down the mood like that. 

So what do you do when you're not engineering?  
  
Not much. I'm a little bit married to my job at the moment. How about you?  
  


How about Steve? He didn't do anything outside of Shield work anymore. God, he was starting to see why Bucky and Nat had put him up to this. 

I draw.  
  


He typed it on impulse, only realizing as he did that he hadn't drawn in a very long time. His friends probably didn't even know he did. 

Really? So you really are an artist. What are you working on right now?  
  


Steve felt cold sweat on the back of his neck. This wasn't right. Anything he said right now would be a lie and if he ever wound up meeting this man he would – 

You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.  
  


Steve blinked, suddenly realizing that he hadn't responded for at least five minutes. Shit. 

Sorry. I'm in a bit of a slump right now.  
  


Understatement of the year. 

Oh, I'm sorry. That sucks.  
  


Steve couldn't help but smile a little. 

Yeah. It does.   
  
I'm sure you'll get your spark back. Sometimes it takes a while.  
  
And if your drawings are half as good as your photos I'm sure you're amazing.  
  
There's no way you can know that, but thank you.  
  
Trust me. I have an eye for these things.  
  


Steve raised an eyebrow.

Oh? Are you an art critic or something?  
  
I may or may not have takashi murakami on speed dial  
  


Steve snorted a laugh. 

Well, tell him hi from me when you see him next.  
  
Oh, I will. I'm meeting him over sushi next Wednesday.  
  


“What are you smiling about?”

Steve looked up to find Bucky leaning against the doorframe, nodding at his phone.

“Who's that?”

“No one,” Steve said and Bucky quirked an eyebrow. “Just – you remember the dating app?”

Bucky's second eyebrow rose to join the first. “Really?”

“Yes, really,” Steve said a little defensively and Bucky shook his head.

“No, I mean. That's great, Steve! I'm glad you're having fun with it.”

Steve looked back down at his phone where Loco had sent him another message and didn't bother fighting the smile that tugged at his lips.

“Yeah. I think I might be.”

LocoRocco was funny. That was maybe the first thing Steve noticed about him. He was also weirdly compassionate in an aloof kind of way, open with his affection for the people around him and never shy to speak his mind.

They talked about everything and nothing, from stupid pictures they'd found on the internet to their views on current issues. Steve loved talking to Loco, so much so that Bucky had started commenting on him being constantly glued to his phone with a, quote, 'dumbass smile on his face'.

But the pain was still there underneath. Steve dreaded the day he'd have to face Tony again, knowing that one look at him would ruin the pretense of calm that he'd carefully built up around him. But Loco distracted him in a way that nothing else did and Steve found himself wondering who he was and what he looked like more and more often.

And if he sometimes imagined Loco as an olive-skinned brunette with dark eyes and a goatee... well. That was between him and his guilt-complex only.

LocoRocco  
  
**Today** 1:35 PM  
Hey. Sorry to drop this on you out of the blue, but do you want to meet up sometime? I'll be in New York next week.  
  


Steve had been staring at the message for at least ten minutes when Natasha walked in on him, stopping dead in her tracks.

"Steve? What's wrong? You look like –"

"He wants to meet," Steve said hollowly. "Next week. When..."

"Ah." Natasha's eyes softened with sympathy. "That's when Tony's coming back from Malibu, right?"

Steve nodded, a lump in his throat as he kept staring unseeingly at the message. Natasha sighed, sitting down next to him on the couch as she patted his shoulder.

"You still work together. It was bound to happen sooner or later, right?"

"I still love him," Steve choked out, clutching his phone tighter in his hands. "I keep pushing it out of my head but – Now that he's – I can't –"

"Okay, deep breath," Natasha said calmly and Steve inhaled sharply, breathing out as slowly as he could. "Good. You're saying you feel guilty for texting with someone else now that Tony is coming home. Right?"

Steve nodded miserably.

"But you still want to meet Loco?"

"I don't know," Steve said hoarsely. "It feels wrong. He doesn't know I... he doesn't know I still have feelings for someone else."

Natasha hummed. "Then maybe you should tell him that." She smiled when Steve gave her an incredulous look. "It's better than keeping him guessing, right? Just tell him your situation and then he can make his own choices. Okay?"

That sounded... plausible. "Okay," Steve croaked and Natasha kissed him on the cheek before she got up and went into the kitchen, giving him space to process all this. God, he loved that woman.

"I'm making tea. You want anything?"

"Camomile, thanks," Steve called back, already focussed on typing out his response to LocoRocco.

I would love to meet you. But I gotta be honest. I just got out of a relationship and I'm still kind of hung up on my ex. I'm sorry for not telling you before and if this means you don't want to meet up I completely understand. I would love to get to know you better though.  
  


He stared at his phone, waiting with bated breath for almost a minute before he realized what he was doing. Steve shook his head, about to put his phone down when it suddenly vibrated in his hand. 

What are the odds? I just got broken up with too.  
  


Steve frowned. That was a little too convenient, wasn't it? 

I realize that sounds like a setup but I swear it's not. And while I can't say I'm over my ex I would still love to meet you. Just tell me the time and place and I'll be there.  
  


Steve's thumbs hovered over his keyboard as he hesitated. He really _did_ want to meet this guy. And despite not knowing what he looked like or even his real name he felt like they really had a connection. He hadn't felt like this with anyone since Tony. 

Friday at 6pm, Al Volo in Manhattan. Don't be late.  
  


He pressed send on impulse but when Loco replied with a long string of happy emojis Steve couldn't help but smile.

Maybe it was time he took a chance.

Steve almost turned around four separate times on his way to the restaurant. A part of him was excited, sure, but the much bigger part was absolutely terrified. He'd been optimistic when he left his apartment, ready to have a good time, but now that he was here... It just didn't feel right.

But every time he wanted to leave, to send Loco a message and reschedule, _something_ , he heard Bucky's voice in his head telling him to man up. It was one dinner, just a nice evening with someone who had become a friend and might end up being a lot more. Steve shouldn't be nearly as torn over this as he felt.

But he was. And he knew exactly why.

The long and short of it was that Steve wasn't ready to move on. That would mean accepting that he and Tony would never... fuck, Steve just wasn't ready to acknowledge that him and Tony were over for good. He'd thought he would spend the rest of his life with him and just because Tony didn't feel the same didn't mean that those feelings just... went away.

God, this was a terrible idea.

“Sir?” Steve looked up at the waiter who gave him an apprehensive smile. Which probably had to do with Steve pacing in the foyer of his restaurant for the past five minutes. “Do you have a reservation?”

“Yeah. Yes.” He cleared his throat. “A table for two for Rogers.”

“Ah, yes. Your date is already seated, let me show you to your table.”

Steve followed the waiter with a tight knot of anxiety in his stomach, hoping against hope that whoever his date was wouldn't immediately recognize him –

And froze.

He couldn't feel his face as he stared across the table, seeing his own shock reflected in Tony's eyes. The waiter was saying something but Steve couldn't hear it over the ringing in his ears as he tried hard to swallow past the lump in his throat.

“Tony?” he eventually forced out and Tony flinched, his face shutting down so fast that it looked almost painful.

“'Reserved for Rogers'. Fuck, I should've known.” Tony stood up jerkily, grabbing his jacket off the back of his chair. “I don't know what kind of game you're playing but I'm not gonna –“

“Stop!” Steve grabbed Tony's arm, suddenly desperate to keep him there. “I didn't know it was you! I swear!”

Tony paused, searching his eyes for a second before he frowned. “You said – _Evans_ said –“

Steve flushed at hearing his screen name from Tony's lips. “It wasn't a lie. I really just wanted to meet you. And I – I didn't _know_.”

Tony's frown deepened. "But you said – What do you mean you're still hung up on your ex? _You_ broke up with _me!"_

Steve's shoulders stiffened. "That's –"

"And you'd never – fuck, this was Nat's idea, wasn't it? You'd never sign up on an app like this on your own."

Steve bristled. "You did it too, didn't you?"

"Okay, no," Tony snapped, pulling his hand from Steve's grasp. " _You_ dumped _me_. You don't get to be mad at me for moving on!"

Steve sucked in a breath, taking a step back from the table. Tony was right. He should've left the moment he realized that it was Tony at the table, spared them both the hurt. But –

"You said you're not over me," Steve said quietly and Tony grimaced, averting his eyes. "Is that true?"

"What does it matter?" Tony asked icily, crossing his arms over his chest. "You've clearly washed your hands of me. Let's just forget this ever happened and I'll –"

"I miss you," Steve blurted out, only realizing how true it was after he said it. Even being confronted with Tony's anger was worth the chance to see him again. "I've missed you every day since the break up. You –"

"Stop it," Tony snapped, shaking his head. "You kicked me out of your life, you don't have the –"

"Tony." Steve wanted to touch him so badly, keep him here – but he couldn't bear the thought of Tony flinching away from him. "Please. Can we talk? I want to explain."

Tony looked at him for a long moment before he nodded reluctantly. "Fine."

"Thank you." Steve said, his chest swelling with relief as he looked down at the table. “Should we sit?”

Tony scowled but did as he asked, tucking his hands in his lap. "We're not ordering any food. This isn't a date."

"No, of course not."

“Um.” They both looked up at the poor waiter who was staring at them with wide eyes. “So, uh. Can I take your order?”

“Just a coke please, thank you,” Tony said and Steve ordered the same, never taking his eyes off Tony. It hit him all of a sudden that this was real, Tony was LocoRocco, this was a one in a million chance. And thinking back to everything he and Loco had talked about...

“Loco said – _you_ said you want a serious relationship,” Steve said and Tony grimaced, looking off to the side. “I thought that wasn't your style.”

Tony glared at him. “I don't do one night stands anymore.” His eyes softened the tiniest bit before he quickly hid them behind his hand. “And after... what we had. I want that again. I liked going steady.”

Steve blinked. “What?”

“I said I want to go stea–“

“We weren't going steady.”

Tony looked at him like Steve had just slapped him in the face. “What?”

“You wanted –“ Steve swallowed hard. “Tony, what we had wasn't – I always _wanted_ us to go steady!”

“But we _were_ ,” Tony insisted and Steve felt something in his brain click into place, painting a horrifying picture.

“Tony, did you – this whole time, did you want us to be _serious?”_

Tony winced. “Don't make it sound so pathetic, okay? I know it's not what you –“

“I _wanted_ that!” Steve cut him off, his mind whirring as he tried to reconcile what Tony just said with the last month of their relationship. “I thought _you_ didn't want that!”

Tony looked at him for a long moment before his eyes widened.

“Is that why you broke up with me?” Tony asked incredulously. “You think I didn't want _serious?”_

“What was I supposed to think?” Steve asked, his stomach sinking. “You never made time for me, you never –”

“Because I was busy!” Tony sounded horrified. “Oh my god, that's why – Did you think I didn't –“

“You never called!” Steve said desperately. “I was always the one asking if you wanted to do things. You blew me off all the time and I understand that you're busy but – I just – fuck, you never once called me or even texted me on one of your business trips and I kept thinking –”

“I _loved_ you!”

Steve's mouth snapped shut as Tony stared at him like his world was ending.

“You never told me you were unhappy,” Tony said with a desperation that tore at Steve's heartstrings. “I thought I was – Steve, did you hate being with me?”

“No!” Steve protested fiercely. “Being with you was the best thing in my life.”

“Then why –“ Tony choked, closing his eyes with a pained expression. “Why didn't you _tell_ me? I would've – I –“

Steve swallowed heavily. “I thought I was holding you back.”

Tony's head snapped up as he fixed him with an affronted look. _"What?”_

“You're so –“ Steve waved a hand at him, unable to put it into words. “Tony, I could never keep up with you. And if we're honest I was never quite good enough fo–“

“Whoa, okay, no, time out!” Tony glared at him. “What the actual _fuck_ , Steve?”

Steve shrugged, averting his eyes as that old, familiar pain of inadequacy flared in his chest. “I don't... Tony, you're made for so much more tha–“

“Being with you was the best thing that ever happened to me.” Steve looked up, honestly shocked at how fiercely Tony was staring at him. “If anything I – look, I know I was busy a lot but I didn't think –“ Some of that fire in his eyes dimmed as his shoulders slumped. “But that's the problem, isn't it? I didn't even notice how unhappy you were and – fuck, you were probably right for breaking up with me. I was a terrible boyfriend.”

Steve really wanted to disagree, but... they _did_ have problems. That wasn't all on Tony though. “I could've said something. I think I – I don't know, I guess I was afraid to hear you say...”

“Say what?” Tony asked softly and Steve looked away, feeling a sudden pressure behind his eyes.

“I didn't want you to leave me.”

Tony was silent for a long moment. “So you left first.”

God, it sounded so stupid when he said it like that. It probably _was_ stupid. “I'm sorry. I should've just talked to you.”

“You should've,” Tony agreed and Steve's eyes stung with tears. “And I should've paid more attention.” Steve looked up at him, meeting Tony's wry smile with one of his own. “Looks like a lot of this could've been avoided if we'd just talked.”

Steve snorted despite himself. “Well. Hindsight's 20/20.”

Tony grimaced, fiddling with his cutlery as he avoided Steve's gaze. “I should probably –“ He took a deep breath before he looked at Steve. “I'm sorry for hurting you. And for not making time when I could've. You deserved better than that.”

Steve was honestly speechless, so blindsided by Tony's apology that his brain only came back online when Tony nodded to himself, his face shuttering as he stood up.

“I guess I'll see you aro–“

“I still love you,” Steve blurted out and Tony's eyes went wide as they stared at each other. Steve's heart was pounding in his chest. “And I – I'm sorry too. For not saying anything.”

Tony looked at him for a long moment before he sat back down, his expression unreadable. Steve really wanted to say something, anything, but he felt like they were standing on some sort of precipice, like a single word could tip the scale either way. It was terrifying.

But, as always, Tony broke the tension between them with a nod, clasping his hands under his chin. “So. We both still love each other.” Steve swore his heart skipped a beat at hearing it acknowledged, absurdly grateful to have it put into words. “I don't know what this means for us. We can't just go back to what we had.”

Steve shook his head. “No, we can't.” He took a deep breath. “But. If you want, I would like to... to see you. Again.”

Tony quirked an eyebrow. “Are you asking me out on a date, Rogers?”

Steve's chest felt tight but his heart was singing when he saw Tony's lips twitch up into a smile. “So what if I am?”

“Just asking,” Tony said easily but his eyes were full of emotion when Steve grabbed his hand. He didn't pull away.

“Would you let me take you out, Tony?” Steve asked before he looked at their surroundings. “Um. Or let me buy you dinner? Here?”

Tony's eyes shone and Steve's heart skipped a beat when he felt Tony's thumb stroke the back of his hand.

“I'd love that.”


End file.
